dan76 said:
With Disney now owning Lucasfilm does that now mean they own all original footage? Can they re cut the original films? Theoretically you would think so, but it wouldn't surprise me that Lucas has clauses within the contract so they can't do that.
Again, I hope he's just let it all go, but being it's his life's work I doubt it.
Edit: don't know why this damn text is so small...
Well, yes Disney does own Lucasfilm in it's entirety, so I'm 99.99% positive that they have every right legally to re cut and release the unaltered films, but I suppose there is a chance that they agreed to never release the OUT again but I find that incredibly unlikely for multiple reasons.
1. Disney plans on milking Star Wars for decades to come, and they don't want to be beholden to George's ever changing nondescript "true vision", especially given how unpopular the Special Editions are. And for the amount of money they paid, I doubt Lucas held onto anything.
2. Even if the unaltered films aren't a huge gold mine, I doubt Disney would agree to buy Star Wars without getting something as basic as the original films for some of the most successful movies in human history.
3. I've heard that apparently Lucas considered walking away from the deal just because Disney wanted to purchase EVERYTHING Lucasfilm related, obviously he didn't walk away though; I must stress that this 3rd point isn't any confirmed information but it's just stuff I've read that seems believable enough, but definitely take it with a grain of salt.